Recognizing and Creating Order

The business of the first weeks of school is creating and recognizing order — in our routines, in the space we occupy, and even academically, in the world around us. Mathematically, we have been exploring the idea of tessellation. We explored the definition of polygons, which involved understanding closed shapes vs open ones, two dimensional shapes vs three, and line segments vs curves. We distinguished between regular and irregular polygons, and then experimented to see which could tessellate (cover a plane without overlaps or gaps). We have started creating more artistic tessellations with closed forms that include curves and line segments. As we complete and color these, we’ll be looking to the famous work of M.C. Escher, and we’ll be noting the differences between the sliding tessellations we’re making at the moment and the flipping and rotating that are also possible.

With the single-copy fiction collection now alphabetized by the group, we have started work on painting the shelves that hold them. One section needs a bit of repair as well. The offer to paint got members of the group thinking creatively, so we are exploring how the wall space between the rooms can be made into a mural of sorts, as well as display space. Stay posted…

And then, of course, much of our real work involves real play — equally valuable as friendships form, re-form, and strengthen.